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Nord User Forum

This 'unofficial' Forum is dedicated to the Clavia Nord Keyboards, including the Nord Stage, Nord Electro and Nord Piano. Discuss any issues around Nord's keyboards, share your favorite patches, samples, and music. We are not affiliated with Clavia!

Hello I'm considering my first Nord Piano, I'd like to ask the community how they feel when a new generation of their chosen instruments comes out. Do Piano 1 and 2 owners feel like they are missing out or now own an outdated model? I'm a casual player who would love a real piano in my life, and even though it would be a lot cheaper to obtain a second hand upright, it simply doesnt fit with my lifestyle (mainly because i rent). Also space is a big problem I'd like to invest in a Piano 3 as it seems to have more advanced playing technoology then the previous models. I also looked at the Electro 5 to save some money and even more space.Any thoughts would be appreciated and many thanks for reading

Advice for the longevity

Someone else posted here once that the difference between a model and its immediate successor is usually not great enough to warrant an upgrade (unless of course you can afford it!) But once you get two releases apart, that's the time to seriously consider it.

I bought an Electro 4 after the 5 was released so got a very good price on it. I'm ok without the features of the 5...but when a 6 finally comes around, then I will probably jump!

Right now, the Nord Piano 3 has been out for a while, replacing the Nord Piano 2 but not a huge upgrade. The other night, I was checking online pricing for lightly used examples, and the two were very close to each other in price.

Bear in mind that the next new model does not render the "old" one obsolete. I still bring my Electro 3HP out all the time, despite owning a Stage 2EX. Sure, it has less piano memory, but it still uses the same sound library, and it very playable.

The primary difference between the Piano 1 and 2 is the split capability and the Piano 2's ability to utilize the Nord Sample Library. The difference between the Piano 2 and 3 is the 3's new keyboard and increased memory. If you are playing straight piano and nothing else, any of these models are fine, as they all use exactly the same piano sounds. The rest really depends on how much use you will make of the features of the newer models.

The same thinking would apply to the Electro and Stage models as well. Electros 3 and newer use the Nord Piano Library, as do all the Stage models.

You should, if you can, try out Nord instruments with both the HA and HP actions, as that may sway your decision as well. Otherwise, use the Nord website to understand the specification differences of the various models. Information is provided for both current and "legacy" instruments.

Thanks for the replies, i spent the afternoon in a store playing the Piano 3 and really enjoyed it. Does anybody know roughly how long a model is out before Nord releases the next version? I've been googling but not found anything. Is anybody expecting something new at Namm 2017 for example?

emergingstates wrote:Thanks for the replies, i spent the afternoon in a store playing the Piano 3 and really enjoyed it. Does anybody know roughly how long a model is out before Nord releases the next version? I've been googling but not found anything. Is anybody expecting something new at Namm 2017 for example?

Many thanks.

Piano 3 came out earlier this year. Nobody knows if Piano 4 will come out in 2019, 2020, 2021... but I think it's very safe to say it won't come out in 2017.

it's not updated, but you can get a pretty good picture. Usually every product line gets a slight update after 2-3 years, and a major overhaul after 2-3 years more.

For example, the transition from Electro 2 to electro 3 was big. Not so much from Electro 3 to 4, while the 5 was a big improvement, and so on.Piano 3 is so new that I wouldn't expect any major change at least for a couple of years, and even then, it will not make your NP3 obsolete in the least.